SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct 22, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- SunPower Corp. (Nasdaq: SPWR), a Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of high-efficiency solar cells, solar panels and solar systems, today announced that the team of students from Technische Universitat Darmstadt of Germany has won the 2007 Solar Decathlon, by building a house powered by SunPower's high-efficiency solar panels. This marks the second consecutive Solar Decathlon where SunPower's solar panels were used by the competition's winning team. SunPower solar panels also powered the Decathlon's third place winner, Santa Clara University from California.
The 2007 Solar Decathlon, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), was held October 12th through October 19th on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Twenty teams of college and university students from the United States and Puerto Rico, Canada, Spain, and Germany competed this month to design, build and operate the most attractive, effective and energy-efficient solar-powered homes.
SunPower's industry-leading, high-efficiency silicon solar panels were used by nine of the 20 competing teams for this year's competition, including Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York Institute of Technology, Santa Clara University, Technische Universitat Darmstadt, the University of Cincinnati, the University of Colorado, and the Universidad de Puerto Rico. Additionally, SunPower panels powered five of the seven homes that scored a perfect 100 points in the Energy Balance contest, which requires teams to use only energy generated by the solar electric systems during the competition.
"SunPower congratulates all the participating schools for their design and engineering innovation," said Tom Werner, CEO of SunPower Corp. "The DOE's leadership in the 2007 Solar Decathlon, as well as the Solar America Initiative, has established a credible path for solar to become a substantial portion of new power capacity in the U.S. within the decade."
"How appropriate that teams from two of the biggest solar markets in the world, Germany and California, took first and third place using SunPower's high-efficiency solar panels," continued Werner. "This month's Solar Decathlon has come at a very important time, as Congress works to complete an energy bill with key provisions that could expand solar energy across the U.S. By following the leadership of Germany and California, Congress could extend and expand the federal solar investment tax credit to potentially accelerate adoption of solar power -- a domestic, renewable and reliable energy resource."
About SunPower
SunPower Corporation (Nasdaq: SPWR) designs, manufactures and delivers high-performance solar electric systems worldwide for residential, commercial and utility-scale power plant customers. SunPower high-efficiency solar cells and solar panels generate up to 50 percent more power than conventional solar technologies and have a uniquely attractive, all-black appearance. With headquarters in San Jose, Calif., SunPower has offices in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit http://www.sunpowercorp.com. SunPower is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE: CY).
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are statements that do not represent historical facts. We use words such as "become," "could," potential," and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, the company's plans and expectations regarding the Department of Energy's leadership in establishing a credible path for solar to become a substantial portion of new power capacity in the U.S. within the decade and Congress' ability to extend and expand the federal solar investment tax credit and potentially accelerate adoption of solar power -- a domestic, renewable and reliable energy resource. These forward-looking statements are based on information available to us as of the date of this release and current expectations, forecasts and assumptions and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by these forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include a variety of factors, some of which are beyond our control. In particular, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ include risks associated with (i) the price and availability of cells and solar panels; (ii) business and economic conditions and growth trends in the solar power industry; (iii) the continuation of governmental and related economic incentives promoting the use of solar power; and (iv) other risks described in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended July 1, 2007, and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date, and we are under no obligation to, and expressly disclaim any responsibility to, update or alter our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
SunPower is a registered trademark of SunPower Corp. Cypress is a registered trademark of Cypress Semiconductor Corp. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
SOURCE SunPower Corporation
http://www.sunpowercorp.com
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